God’s Great Gift

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Eternal Realities

God’s Great Gift By Rick Warren — Mar 27, 2015 “Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin.” (Romans 3:24-25 MSG) The greatest gift you’ve ever been given wasn’t bought in a store. No cash exchanged hands. It wasn’t even wrapped. Yet it cost the Giver everything. The Bible says God sent his Son to Earth to give you the greatest gift ever. He came to Earth to die and make you right with God. Romans 3:24-25 says, “Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin” (MSG). So why did Jesus have to die? Let’s go back to the basics. Nobody’s perfect. I’ve never met a single person who has claimed to be perfect. I don’t measure up to my own expectations, much less God’s perfect standard. Neither do you. We’ve all blown it. The Bible says, “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans3:23 CEV). God is just. God wants to be fair. When somebody breaks a law, there must be a penalty for it. When you break man’s laws, you pay man’s penalty. When you break God’s laws, you pay God’s penalties. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a NIV). Jesus paid the price for our sin. The Bible says, “God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!” (2 Corinthians 5:21TLB) Jesus took on my sin and your sin and all the sin that has ever been committed. That’s the Good News, the Gospel. Jesus paid the price you could never pay. Accept God’s free gift. God gave us a free gift of salvation when Jesus took our sin upon himself. It’s a gift we must receive. The Bible says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NIV). Will you accept God’s free gift of salvation? It’s one thing to understand the basics of how to have a relationship with Jesus. It’s another to accept the gift. I pray you will make that all-important decision today. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Outside of your salvation, what’s the most memorable gift you’ve ever received?  Why is it hard to accept a free, extravagant gift? Who can you invite to Easter services? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Czujx1LOc Abundant Life Today TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Are you living the abundant life Jesus came to give you? You may not have the biggest house or newest car, but God promises abundant life for you. His abundance goes way beyond the things we can see in the natural. It means that you can have peace in the midst of a storm. You can have joy when things are uncertain. You can have hope when circumstances seem hopeless. You can live and enjoy life to the fullest every single day because you have the Creator of life on the inside of you. Sometimes it is easy to look at this verse and think, “God is going to give me abundant life some day.” But the truth is, God wants you to have abundant life TODAY. Ask Him to show you His abundant favor, blessing and peace. Focus on Him and let Him show you His abundant life — today! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, I know that You want the best for me. Thank You for Your promise of abundant life on this earth. Show me your ways so that I can be a blessing every where I go. In Jesus’ name. Amen.